William Shakespeare begins legal action against John Addenbrooke, 17 August 1608. Front
In the summer of 1608, William Shakespeare brought an action in the local Court of Record to recover a debt of £6 allegedly owed him by one John Addenbrooke, gentleman. He also claimed a further 24 shillings ...
William Shakespeare between Tragedy and Comedy
An oil painting on wood panel by Richard Westall R.A. (1766-1836) depicting Shakespeare with the Muses Thalia (Comedy) and Melpomene (Tragedy) who are without their usual attributes of a scroll or viol ...
William Shakespeare buried, 25 April 1616
Entry in the parish register, Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, recording the burial of William Shakespeare. He had died two days earlier, aged fifty-two. He is described as a gentleman, then ...
William Shakespeare buys 107 acres of land in Stratford, 1 May 1602
Shakespeare, once he had become a man of means, had clearly been toying with the idea of buying some land in or near Stratford since 1598, but it was not until 1602 that he acted, buying from a local ...
William Shakespeare buys New Place, May 1597
In May 1597, William Shakespeare purchased New Place from William Underhill. This was reputedly the second largest house in Stratford, and stood on the corner of Chapel Street and Chapel Lane. It had ...
William Shakespeare in the Globe Theatre
The portrait was produced for the Royal Academy of Arts 1988 Summer Exhibition in London. Sutton expressed the hope that it would eventually be displayed at the new Globe Theatre, the building of which ...
William Shakespeare listed as a possible contributor to a local fund to improve the roads, 11 September 1611. Page 1
In the early seventeenth century, several attempts were made to bring forward legislation to improve the state of the roads. Money was needed to promote this and local subscription lists were opened. ...
William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1600 [1619] - binding view
A smart 19th century binding on a Shakespeare 'quarto'.
The ‘quarto’ editions of Shakespeare’s work were published as slim pamphlets. The original binding of this volume, would probably ...
William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1600 [1619] - bookplate
An owner’s bookplate in a Shakespeare ‘quarto’.
The ownership of books is frequently indicated by a label or ‘bookplate’ created for an individual owner. The label of ...
William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1600 [1619] - Puck's epilogue.
Puck, as Epilogue in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The fairy magic of A Midsummer Night’s Dream brings the play to an end as Puck speaks the epilogue after Theseus and his newly-wed courtiers ...
William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1600 [1619] - 'Pyramus and Thisbe' play, p.H3r.
The play presented before the court in Shakespeare's A Midsummer’ Night’s Dream.
The play of ‘Pyramus and Thisbe’, like the other plays presented in Shakespeare’s Love’s ...
William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1600 [1619] - quarto edition, Oberon and Puck, p.C2v.
‘I know a bank where the wild thyme blows...’.
The name ‘quarto’ used for the earliest printed texts of some of Shakespeare’s most popular plays refers to the size of ...
William Shakespeare, King Lear, 1608 [1619] - p.B2rof the second quarto..
An eternal theme - bastardy and legitimacy in Shakespeare.
Edmund’s evil nature is presented immediately he is alone with the audience. The conflict between legitimate and illegitimate children ...
William Shakespeare, King Lear, 1608 [1619] - p.B2r, detail, Edmund's soliloquy.
‘Thou Nature art my goddess’: evil in Shakespeare.
In the 'quarto' edition Edmund, the eldest son of the Earl of Gloucester, is named Bastard in the speech headings, perhaps reflecting ...
William Shakespeare, King Lear, 1608 [1619] - quarto title page.
Title page information about Shakespeare's the play of King Lear.
This 'quarto' page is from the edition with a false earlier date on the title-page, published by Thomas Pavier without the permission ...
William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost, 1631 - the play ends with a song of winter
Poetry in Shakespeare's plays: ‘When icicles hang by the wall’.
The play of Love’s Labour’s Lost concludes, as was the custom in many comedies of the time, with a song, in this ...
William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost, 1631 - the Nine Worthies' play ends
The conclusion of a Shakespeare comedy in dance and song: Love’s Labour’s Lost.
Before the winter song comes a song of summer. Both are performed at the end of the play by the group of ...
William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost, 1631 - title page detail
Shakespeare’s acting company and their theatres.
In Shakespeare's time companies of actors needed a patron to exist within the law. The title-page of a 'quarto' paperback edition of one of Shakespeare's ...